Arthros Psychopompos
by TertiaryRaiths
Summary: Will Turner finally hears his job description.


**While surfing the depthless font of knowledge known as Wikipedia, I came across a strange article...which inspired this fic.**

**Note: Obviously Pirates and its characters don't belong to me (sad as that makes me). THEY ARE COPYRIGHTS OF DISNEY. **

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**Captain William Turner II of the _Flying Dutchman_ stood at the wheel, watching the departed file onto his ship. Feeling the ship rock under his feet, he felt a sudden pang of what he had come to call "land-sickness." Will wished fervently to stand on the warm, golden sands of a Caribbean beach, with the sun glinting off the impossibly blue water.

And Elizabeth...

_"Will," his father said to him. "You can't pine after her forever. We have work to do."_

_Will didn't want to have anything to do with this dismal business. He said so. "But I don't want to do any of it," he had snapped. _

_Bootstrap nodded. "I know," he replied sadly. "But you must."_

_"Why is it so important anyway?" Will fumed, feeling very much like a whining child. He didn't give Bootstrap time to answer, brushing past him to head to the helm._

He felt a little bad about that now. But he missed her, and it wasn't fair that he was trapped doing in this dismal work.

His sulking was interrupted by a cough-Bootstrap Bill looked meaningfully at the people climbing up onto the deck.

Macchus appeared suddenly to take the wheel; Will jumped and hurried across the deck, forcing a look of good cheer across his face. It felt stiff and awkward.

"Welcome aboard," he said in a tone far more cheerful than his mood; and couldn't help but feel a little facetious. He really did not want to welcome these people aboard. What he wanted-

Will shook his head, scattering these traitorous thoughts. What he wanted didn't matter now, maybe had never mattered. _That's not true_, he said sternly to himself.

"Poios ine aftos?" a voice demanded. At least, that was what it sounded like.

Will blinked at the man standing in front of him; tall, with curly dark hair and lean brown features.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"It's Greek," Wyvern explained from directly behind him. Will twitched in surprise.

"Wyvern," he said, "You speak Greek?"

Wyvern shrugged modestly. "A little."

"What did he say, then?" Will wanted to know.

"He said...'Who are you?' I think," Wyvern replied finally.

"Can you tell him, 'I'm the captain of the Flying Dutchman'?" Will asked.

"I can try," Wyvern responded doubtfully. "Er...aftos einai lochagos _Iptamenos_..._Ollandoiandras_."

"Ah! Eisaste psychopompos?" the Greek pressed.

"What is that?" Will demanded. "What did he say?"

"He says, 'Ah, you are the psychopomp!'" Wyvern said.

"The 'psychopomp'?" Absently Will waved a skinny bald man past the Greek. "What, exactly, is a psychopomp?"

"Well, I seem to remember-and I'm not exactly sure, Captain, mind you-that a psychopomp is a mystical figure who escorts the newly dead to the afterlife."

Will blinked. "There's a word for that? For us?" He was interested. Someone had made up a word just for his depressing line of work.

"Well, it applies to anyone who moves the dead to the next life," Wyvern corrected. "But yes, that could be a word for us."

Will's face stretched into a smile, and it didn't feel stiff or awkward. Wyvern looked surprised. "Tell him 'yes, thank you', please." He wandered away from Wyvern, to the prow of the ship.

"Captain," Bootstrap said from behind him; Will didn't jump at all. "Are you alright?"

"I'm better than alright," Will replied cheerfully.

"Are you now," Bootstrap said warily. "And what has brought this particular mood around?"

Will smiled secretly as he gazed out at the endless black horizon. A single ray of sunlight shot over the dark ocean. "The psychopomp, Mister Turner."

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**Yeah, I know...not my best. But I wrote it in ten minutes, and I had to do SOMETHING. You don't come across an article that perfectly describes the job of the _Dutchman_'s captain and NOT write anything about it. **

**P.S. Sorry if I butchered the Greek, I was working with an online dictionary. It wasn't very forgiving. *edit* My major error was corrected by the reviewer beauteouscake! -hugs- **

**P.P.S. So anyway, I could use some feedback on this one, plz. -angelic smile- **


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